


A Nice Boy

by Burgie



Series: MadelynxAlonso AU [1]
Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2019-02-27 17:48:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13253448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Alonso is late for his date with Madelyn. Madelyn belongs to firgrove on tumblr.





	A Nice Boy

Madelyn knew that Alonso was going to be different when he wasn’t immediately trying to destroy the world or do something else evil. No, instead, when Madelyn first saw the Jorvik Ranger, he was down on one knee feeding seeds to a squirrel out of the palm of his hand. Even when she accidentally stepped on a stick and frightened the squirrel away, Alonso hadn’t minded. Instead, he’d just chuckled, dusted the remaining seeds from his palm, and stood up.

She’d seen him often since then, going to the ranger station to see if he needed help with anything or just to ride the race tracks. Sometimes, he rode with her, though Mardy was able to beat even her fastest horses. She knew that Alonso let her win the races sometimes, but she didn’t mind.

And now, not only had he given her the sweetest New Year’s kiss, he’d also asked her out on a date. Well, not a fancy date, just lunch at the local Dundull café, but still… it was nicer than anything any of her previous beaus had done.

He was late, but Madelyn tried not to worry too much. He was a Jorvik Ranger, after all, he probably had an injured animal or some other forest emergency to tend to. Or, more likely, some little old lady or other old person had stopped to talk to him, and he was too polite to turn them down. She smiled at the thought, even as she looked at the menu for the fortieth time. She didn’t know why she kept looking at it, it hadn’t changed the last thirty-nine times. It also wasn’t much different to the other cafes around Jorvik, which was strange- she’d expected it to have cloudberry jam, at least, or blueberry pancakes.

“Excuse me, ma’am,” said the woman running the place, walking over to her on silent feet. “Are you going to order anything?”

“Oh, um, yeah, I’m just waiting for my date,” said Madelyn, her cheeks burning hot with humiliation that she had to say that.

“I think you’ve been stood up, my dear,” said the woman, smiling in a way that was supposed to be polite but simply looked condescending.

“No, he’s just late,” said Madelyn, giving the woman a smile that was far more confident than she felt at the moment. How had she become this? Willing to put up with anything just to get a guy’s attention, to feel that creeping disappointment but continue to fool herself that it was okay, that he’d come, that he’d stay loyal.

Fortunately, Madelyn managed to hold back the tears until the woman walked away, and then she was able to wipe them away with her napkin. Her hands trembled slightly as she sniffled. Surely Alonso would continue to be different. Surely.

She couldn’t help but watch the sun’s progress across the sky. The woman returned to her table at one point, but only to give her a glass of water. Madelyn thanked her, sipping at her drink in an attempt to swallow the lump in her throat.

The sun was setting by the time Alonso finally arrived, covered in dirt and with a splash of mud on his chest and up his arms. But Madelyn’s heart leaped all the same, banishing the shadowy doubts, and a smile spread across her face as she stood to embrace him. Her legs had gone slightly numb.

“You made it,” said Madelyn, grinning. But Alonso stepped back, holding up his arms.

“Woah, are you sure you wanna do that? I’m filthy,” said Alonso, chuckling. Madelyn rolled her eyes and hugged him anyway.

“I don’t look much better after a day doing stable chores, trust me,” said Madelyn with a laugh. She didn’t want to ask where he’d been, that had been a forbidden question with the other two men, but Alonso was different. “Where were you?”

“Sorry,” said Alonso, blushing. “I, uh- I was all set to leave, and then I heard a weird noise. Turns out, one of the cow elk was having trouble giving birth, so I had to give her a hand.”

“Aww,” Madelyn cooed, happiness rushing through her. “Are the mother and baby okay?”

“Yeah, it’s one healthy little calf,” said Alonso, grinning at the thought. His teeth were so white, and Madelyn was amazed all over again at how handsome he was. So handsome, and he wasn’t evil. He was the best good she’d ever seen. She smiled at him, but then his stomach growled, interrupting the moment, and they both laughed.

“Don’t worry, I’m starving too,” said Madelyn, sitting down at the table.

“Haven’t you eaten?” asked Alonso, alarm flashing in those beautiful eyes.

“I-I was waiting for you,” said Madelyn, blushing. Alonso gasped.

“You didn’t have to, not if you’re hungry,” said Alonso. “Don’t starve on my account, please.” Madelyn laughed, warmed at his concern.

“Okay, I’ll know for next time,” said Madelyn. She fought the urge to pick the menu up again, having already memorised it.

“So he finally showed, huh?” said the waitress, wandering back over to their table. The café was becoming more populated now, full of people who’d just come back from trail rides, or people ordering dinner, or just people having a romantic sunset date by the water.

“Yep,” said Madelyn, grinning. She would have looked smug if she wasn’t so happy about Alonso having showed. She felt bad for having doubted him.

“I’ll have a blueberry soda and a vegetarian burger meal, please,” said Alonso, smiling winningly up at the woman.

“Certainly, Alonso,” said the woman, writing down the order. “And you? You’ve had all day to decide, and to see the meals on the other people’s plates.” Madelyn ignored the jibe, but only because Alonso had placed his hand on her’s after ordering.

“Pear soda and pizza, please,” said Madelyn, lacing her fingers with Alonso’s.

“I’ll have that done in no time,” said the woman, and hurried over to the kitchen to give the order to the chef.

While they waited, Madelyn relaxed into Alonso’s presence. He talked about his day, about the cow elk and how he’d checked on the wolves (they were fine), investigated the brambles blocking the tunnel to Northern Mistfall (still too dangerous to approach, let alone attempt to tame), and looked at the branch blocking the trail (ditto for that, if he moved one log, the other log would fall and roll down the hill, endangering lives).

In return, Madelyn talked about her horse training adventures. It was nice, to have someone listen to her with interest that was purely out of the goodness of his heart and not motivated by business or evil intent.

“Maybe he’ll be able to beat Mardy once he’s fully trained,” said Alonso. Madelyn laughed.

“I doubt it, that mare of yours is faster than anything I’ve ever seen,” said Madelyn.

“Heh, I guess the blueberries give her energy,” said Alonso. Madelyn smiled, but then had to look away from him as the waitress returned with their meals.

“There you go, enjoy your meals,” said the waitress, giving Alonso a smile. Madelyn felt a flash of jealousy, but Alonso only had eyes for her.

“Next time an emergency comes up, I’ll at least text you,” said Alonso, popping a chip into his mouth. Madelyn took a bite out of her pizza.

“You’d better,” said Madelyn. “Or I’ll just go to the ranger station and see what’s up.”

“I still feel bad for making you wait, though,” said Alonso.

“You can make it up to me by paying for the meal,” said Madelyn, giving him a cheeky smile.

“I was going to anyway,” said Alonso. “Like a gentleman is supposed to do.” Madelyn felt a rush of warmth, falling more and more in love with this cute ranger boy.

“Oh. Well then, I’ll figure out a way that you can make it up to me,” said Madelyn. Alonso chuckled.

After dinner, the two of them rode back to the ranger station together at a steady pace along the old path. They continued chatting, and Madelyn felt as though a great weight had lifted off her shoulders. Around Alonso, the heaviness that had been weighing her down since Anwir lifted. And it helped that he wasn’t bad-looking, too.


End file.
